etc., Professor of Natural History in the University of St. Andrews. Sixth edition, revised and( enlarged,. WVilliam l31ackwood and Sons-Edinburgh and London, i88o. This Manual of Zoology hats become so fully recognized as one of the most comlplete an(l reliable guidles to a knowledge of this subject, thalt but few words are necessary in giving notice of the issue of a new e(lition. The study of Zoology is constantlv bringing new and( interesting facts to the SUrface, hence ithc necessity for

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... equent e(litionis of manuials treating on the subject, to keep I)ace with dliscoveries. l'rofessor Nicholsoni has availed ulimself of the l)restnt opportunity to thoroug,hlv revise his work, and bring forward arrears of facts which llave accunulated durinr the past two years, an(Il in aCco1rtduce with the views o? inany distinguishedl naturalists hie Ihas raise(d the order of cZhiz;nod'rmaltza to the rank of ai suLbkingdom. rhis ialteration necessitates the abandonment of the Anzulozida as a Sub)-kingdom, and the refei-etrce of Yne ncoiecida to the Annulosa. i'rofessor Nicholson forestalls criticisnm for such action by candidly a(dmiiittin-that this arrangement is far froin being wholly saltisfactory, but asks that it may-be p)rovisionally adopted as the best under the circumstances, taking in(o account our l)rescnt knowledge. A number of eXxcCllCnt illuLstraitions have been introduced in the presenit c(litionl, anid the student sill nows have the benefit of over 450 wood-cutts. Thlle genierall plan of this boo)k is admirable, and(1 following each chapter is a list of the best sorks and( mcmiioirs relatilln to the animilals belonging to eachl sub-kingd(lomii. There is one feature of this svork which in our opinion gives it a special valuc to sttlelnlts, and that is ain excellent glossary of aabout 1ooo words. 'I'he indlex is also aml)le an(d caemfully arranged. 'The present work of Professor Nicholson is the latest and b)est Manual of Zoology, and we recomneti(d it strongly to those intereste(d in such studIics. LIFE ON THE SFAS,II1orE(OR ANIMALS OF OUR COASTs AND BAYS, With illustrations and descriptions. By JA'MES H. ELMERTON, author of Structure an(d Habits of Spiders. Naturalists' HIan(ly Series No. i. George A. Bates, Salenm, MI;ass., i8gSo. This charming little work is the first of a series of han(dy books suitable for amateur naturalists, a class now hiappily on the increase. The author has provided a pleasant comnpanion which should l)e in the hands of all visitors to our coasts, ensuring a never failing fund of amiiusement, leading insensibly to one of the most delightful of scientific stud es. Mr. Ernerton states " I have tried to give such explanations otf some of our common animals of the New Englan(d coast as have been otten askeed for by persons little acquainted with zoologry, and to give such directions about coilecting and observing them as have bhen found( useful to studcnts who come to the shore for a short time in the summer to study animnals that they before knew only from pictures." The book is divi(led into four parts, treating separately animals which are found " between the tides," "near low water mark," "1 surface animals," "1 bottoim animals." The reader will find this an excellent arr.n(rement. WVe find above one hundred and fifty excellent wvood cuts, which faithfully represent the objects dlescril)ed in the body of the book; the sensational and miiisleadling illustrations to be found in a somewhat similar svork find no place in this volume. WNre can therrfore recommend 'Mr. Emerton's work as not only a reliable guide, but one which will create a healthful desire for knowledge in those who are so fortunate as to possess it. CHEMICAL NOTES. CONTRIBUTION TO A KXNOWLEDGE OF SAPONIFICATION OF FATs.-The name fat is generally applied to a mixture of the tri glycerides of palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids. As regards the aninial fats this assumption has been in a1: cases verificd, but the vegetable fats display ccrtain not un important deviations. J. Koinig, J. Kiesow, and B. Aronheim, in saponifying vegetable fats, obtained invariably less glycerine than is required for formin-the glycerine. ethers of the fatty acids-a fact pointing to the conclusion that free fatty acids mnust be present, since the quantity of cholesterine occurring in the plants is too small to combinc with the fatty acids. For saponification potassiuim and sodiumn hydrate were used along with thle oth"r basic oxides, the lattcr suibstances being consid-red citial in value to the former, thec only differencet being that ttue pro. dtucts irn tlhe one case are termied " soa p,'" anru iri the othier 4' plasters." It was assoumed hlitiherto that tje hi i-gl y(e:ides, like otiher ethers, were completely decomposed by the: above natmed ethers into salts of ttIe fatty lcids an)d glycerine, and that equal quantities of glycerine were ot,tained in all cases. For thlc sapor itication of fats atid the separa. tion of the products, T. Kiloig had proposed a process which consists essentially in treating thie fat operated upon with an excess of lhad oxide in presence of water at 9' to IOO. D)r. von der lBecke, when attempting at lhis reqLuest to s3ponify caca0-bUtter in this mlanner-in order to discover a process for detectin-the sophistications of tlhis pro. duIct-found that it cou,ld not be saponifi('d witlh lead oxi(de, at least not in this manner. It w.,s found on furthter experimentation that the quantity ot glycerine obtaineid on sa ponification with potassium hy(drate was in all cases considerably the hig,hest. In the easily saponitiable fats, butter, lard, and olive oil, the ditference w'as found less manifest, but it was mutch morc distinct in those whlich are hard to saponify. Cacao-butter and taillow. it saponitied withl lead oxide, yield scurcelytraces of glyccrine. A miixture ot an easily s;1poinifiuble fat like butter with cacaobutter gave the samne quantity of glscerine as if butter alone were employed. It is pos;sible tli it thi rcartion wvhen once set up may) extend itself. Ilence it appeir s tlhait in the case of some faits the methio( of saponitication with oxi(de is riot trustworthy, and tha: when the accurate (deteruilination of t)e proportion of glycerinc in a fit is requiired, the s:ipont.ication must be eftfected with potassium livd rate. CON Ri ITIONS'o 'Ii HE ECIAR AC iL I-A " 1('-,( TTIF ALmA-I.N\E EIARH itI) AO 1 ZiNC Oxiiuf:.-Te alkal3ine Carths ard zinc oxi(de if ttinir hydraltes, carbonates., and nitrites are lhcated to complete decomposition, are ol)taiiieird in thec following specific gravities. rime is obtaine'Ir amnorpl)hus fromri the huydrate an(d cat bonate, luit in re-tular cubic crs'stals fronm the nitrate; iiti cithier case of the sp. gr. 3.25-Strontia is obtained frorn the hiydrate and carbonate a,norplious, and of sp. gr. 4.5' but fromi the nitrate in regLi!ar crystals anid of sp. gr. 4.7;. B.trvta is obtained frotm the I ydrate in optically one-or two-axial crystals, of sp. ur. 5.32b:but fromii the nitrate in regularly cubic crystals of sp. gr. M.7. Magnesia is always obtained in the amorphous formii of sp. gir. 3.42. Ziinc oxide is obtained amorphous froom the hydr-.ite and carbonate of sp. gr. 3.47. I)ut from the nitrate in hexag(onal pyramids of sp. gr. 5.7S. IProf. lPritchPtt, of the IMorrison Oas-rvatory, Glasgosv, 'Mo., has nadle arrangements to dron a Tlime-Ball at Kansas City. Di.rERNtIN tioxN OF SIaICON IN tRON .ANi SiREt..-One grini. iron or steel is placed in a porcelain crucible w.th 25 c.c. nitric acid of 1.2 sp. gr. When the reaction is over 125 30 c.c. dilute sulphuric acid-i part acid and 3 water are added, anid tlle solution is heated till the nitric acid is entirely or nearly expelled. WNhien the residuue is sultilciently cool water is cautio)Lusly added, and the conteints of the capsuile are heated till the crvst arlne perfeculv dissolved. The solution is tlhn filtered as hiot as possi.ble, and the residue washed first wvith biot water, then wvitlh 25 to 30 c.c. hydrochiloric acid of sp. gr. 1.2o, and finally a-ain with hlot water. After drying anld ignition the silica is obtained snow-white and granular.-T. M. BRoRWN. I